The Swing in the Tree: Why I’m Not Ready to Take It Down (Even If I Should Be)

We’ve had that little pink swing hanging in our front yard since my daughter was 15 months old. Now she’s older, with a brand-new backyard swing set, but I still can’t bring myself to take the old one down. When my husband tried to replace it for our son, I completely shut down and not in a graceful way. This is the messy, emotional story of why letting go of a swing means letting go of a version of my daughter I miss more than I expected.